Strategic Partners: Creating Synergistic Value

Organizations maximize their performance through partnership, alliance, and acquisition. Acquiring new competencies and experiences can be an effective way to grow your business quickly.  These relationships, whether internal or external to the organization, begin with a consensus on the direction of the initiative and are then framed with tangible goals. A performance culture is established between the partners. This culture requires the partners to understand each other’s strategies and needs. Finding common ground and then working within those parameters are key to successfully meeting the common goals.

Creating these relationships is achieved with a structured methodology of collaborative valuation, co-company integration planning, and new venture operations implementation.  As each stage is completed, it provides clarity and focus for the next stage.  Through this process, relationships are formed and people are eager to achieve the goals that they have set.  Change becomes an easier and a more fluid process.  People are more in control of their endeavors and, therefore, can modify and adjust work and goals to be successful.  The cultures merge slowly so that obstacles are minimized and creatively eliminated.

Workshop 1:  Collaboratively Creating Synergistic Value

Collaborative valuation includes the evaluation of both companies and what they want to achieve separately. What do they want to achieve together? This forms the strategy and direction for their work together. Characteristics of each company are evaluated to determine what each will contribute, as well as who will be responsible and accountable for decision-making. Needs for additional capabilities, competencies, and skills become apparent, and are obtained to ensure that the partnership will achieve its common goals. The deal structure then takes all of these factors into account.  Specifically, the valuation step will produce a synergistic strategy and direction statement, an evaluation of  needs, and deal terms to reflect synergies and needs.  Workshop topics include:

  • Development of acquiring company strategy, its need for capabilities, competencies, and skills
  • Identification of the characteristics of company and/or capabilities to be acquired
  • Scan for qualified companies to target
  • Development of relationship with target(s)
  • Understanding and alignment of both strategies for synergy
  • Identification of synergistic projects
  • Deal structuring and pricing based on synergy plan

Workshop 2:  Company Integration

The integration stage begins with a synergistic strategy and the business model plan created during collaborative valuation. Next-level details are identified as to how the plan will be implemented through co-company integration initiatives. These details include co-company objectives, goals, project plans, and performance milestones.

Specifically, teams of co-company personnel are created to work on specific projects, including specific tasks.  Integrated workflow, stakeholders, information, and technology are planned. Education and assignment of relevant work to specific functional groups are provided.  Workshop topics include:

  • Analysis of the synergistic strategy to create objectives, goals, milestones
  • Identification of tasks and workflow
  • Identification of stakeholders, information, processes, technology required
  • Education and assignment of projects to functional groups

Workshop 3: New Venture Operations

New venture operations bring all planning and deliverables to the functional organization. Once goals are defined and the integration of work and co-company teams have been finalized, projects are scheduled with decision-making responsibilities and accountabilities to the appropriate subject matter experts in functional groups.

Specifically, operational management of the new venture includes oversight, monitoring of joint goal attainment, as well as review for adjustments as needed.  Workplans and processes for review and revision are in place to monitor progress towards joint goals.  Workshop topics include:

  • Creation of functional teams
  • Charter definition of objectives, goals, roles, responsibilities, accountabilities, decision-making requirements